German powerhouse Bayern Munich will have to wait until the new year to continue their impressive Bundesliga reign. But while the defending champions and league leaders will be missed in the final weekend before the winter break, there will be plenty of intriguing Week 17 matchups for fans to enjoy.

Sunday's showdown between BorussiaMonchengladbach and Wolfsburg will headline Matchday 17's loaded slate, as fourth-place Die Fohlen look to remain ahead of Die Wolfe in the league table.

With only one match in the books and seven more on tap for the weekend, here’s a look at how things stand in the Bundesliga:

Bundesliga Table

Pos.

Team

GP

W

D

L

GD

Pts

1

Bayern Munich

16

14

2

0

34

44

2

Bayer Leverkusen

17

12

1

4

16

37

3

Borussia Monchengladbach

17

10

3

4

16

33

4

Borussia Dortmund

17

10

2

5

18

32

5

VfL Wolfsburg

17

9

3

5

9

30

6

Hertha Berlin

17

8

4

5

7

28

7

Schalke 04

17

8

4

5

4

28

8

FC Augsburg

17

7

3

7

-4

24

9

Mainz 05

17

7

3

7

-6

24

10

VfB Stuttgart

16

5

4

7

-2

19

11

Werder Bremen

17

5

4

8

-15

19

12

Hoffenheim

17

4

6

7

-2

18

13

Hannover 96

17

5

3

9

-8

18

14

Hamburger SV

17

4

4

9

-5

16

15

Eintracht Frankfurt

17

3

6

8

-9

15

16

SC Freiburg

17

3

5

9

-15

14

17

Nurnberg

17

0

11

6

-16

11

18

Eintracht Braunschweig

17

3

2

12

-22

11

ESPN FC

Bundesliga Week 17

Home

Score

Away

Eintracht Frankfurt

1-1

FC Augsburg

Borussia Dortmund

1-2

Hertha Berlin

Hamburg SV

2-3

Mainz

SC Freiburg

2-1

Hannover 96

TSV Eintracht Braunschweig

1-0

TSG Hoffenheim

Werder Bremen

1-0

Bayer Leverkusen

Nurnberg

0-0

Schalke 04

Borussia Monchengladbach

2-2

VfL Wolfsburg

ESPN FC

Matchday 17 action got off to a competitive start on Friday as Eintracht Frankfurt and Augsburg played to a 1-1 draw at Commerzbank-Arena.

Raul Bobadilla was the early hero for Augsburg, breaking the scoreless deadlock with a shot to the bottom right corner in the 33rd minute. However, Jan Rosenthal would equalize for Die Adler in the 42nd minute, firing a gorgeous shot past Marwin Hitz and into the top corner of the goal.

Sebastian Rode and PirminSchwegler would pick up yellow cards late for Frankfurt, but goal-scoring chances proved limited and defense prevailed for both sides, as Die Adler were forced to settle for their sixth league draw of the season.

As football commentator Derek Rae points out, the draw is a historic one for Frankfurt:

Frankfurt have never gone an entire first half of season without a home Bundesliga win. Fail to beat Augsburg and they will make history.

Saturday's slate will feature six matches, five of which will be played simultaneously, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 p.m. GMT). Saturday's final matchup will pit struggling Nurnberg up against Schalke, with kickoff scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. GMT).

One of Saturday's best matches is sure to be Borussia Dortmund vs. Hertha Berlin. The 2012-13 Champions League runners-up are currently third in the league table and can further distance themselves from Berlin with an 11th win in Week 17.

This matchup will also offer fans an opportunity to watch one of the league's top talents in Robert Lewandowski. The 25-year-old Dortmund star was shutout of Dec. 14's draw with TSGHoffenheim but leads all Bundesliga scorers with 11 goals and four assists through 16 games.

Martin Rose/Getty Images

Based on recent comments from the Pole, it's clear Lewandowski isn't satisfied with his club's play and will bring a healthy dose of intensity to Saturday's match against Hertha, per ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld:

We all know we need to start winning again. We want to start against Hertha. We must really get going in the second part of the season and reduce the gap to Leverkusen and Bayern. We are not allowed to drop any more points.

Despite my 11 goals, I could have scored many more. That’s why I am not satisfied. But that’s not only my problem—that applies to the whole team. We did not drop that many points because we played badly, but because we were too wasteful in front of goal. That’s annoying.

Dortmund, who finished second in the Bundesliga a year ago, 25 points back of champions Bayern, currently trail Die Roten by 12 points through 16 weeks.

Matchday 17 will conclude on Sunday with a battle between two top-four contenders in Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg. If Wolfsburg can earn their fourth league win on the road, they'll draw even with Die Fohlen heading into the winter break.